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The rain lashed like Titan’s whips. He had been through the fires of hell, the icy tundra of the Netherworld, and the various toxic atmospheres of demon realms, but nothing compared to the rainy season on Jabberwock Island. Gundham Tanaka pulled his scarf closer to his face and angled his head down. Luckily, the residential cabins were only a brief walk away from the restaurant. Entering the lovely warmth of the dining room, he noted a significant lack of the usual mortals. Even the most nefarious, Sonia, was nowhere to be seen.As he sat next to Fuyuhiko, currently elbow deep in a stack of scrambled eggs, he mused, “It seems the wraith’s plague has befallen our cohorts…”“Yeah, I know that Kazuichi said he wasn’t comin’ ‘cuz of the rain,” Fuyuhiko managed around a mouthful.“Ah!” he exclaimed. “They are all weak in the face of such treacherous gales. Only a supreme goddess of the sea can conjure such maelstroms.”Fuyuhiko nodded sagely.“You gonna eat some eggs or can I have ‘em?” Perhaps he should have rethought this trek into the damp beyond. The box of pancakes he carried was getting soggy. But Gundham Tanaka was never one to shy away from a challenge, especially if that challenge involved the dark arts. And Sonia was…the darkest of arts. He intended to ask her what sort she specialized in - he presumed it was something to do with plagues, since every time he was around her he felt queasy and jittery (and also inordinately happy? It spoke to her power that she could control even his very mind.) Thus, he was sloshing his way to the door of her cabin. He knocked quickly and shouted over the winds, “IT IS I, GUNDHAM TANAKA! HAS THE TEMPEST TAKEN YOUR VERY SOUL?”He heard quiet shuffling, and Sonia opened the door a crack. “Oh! Hello Gundham!” she beamed, flinging it open so he could enter. There it was, that familiar affliction. She was as powerful as ever, even in a storm. “I have brought sustenance, as you missed breakfast,” he muttered, burrowing his face in his scarf. He held out the box of pancakes to her. Her eyes lit up.“Oh, my word! Gundham, that’s so sweet! Thank you so much!” She must have sustained her power on pancakes, because suddenly Gundam felt twice as warm and equally as queasy. She set the box down on the table in front of the couch as she sat.“Here! Come! Sit down!’ she beamed. Though he intended his mission to be in-and-out, it was impossible to resist that face. Pulled by some unrelenting and unseen force, he sat on the opposite end of the couch. As she proceeded to ask him about his day, he noticed her arms were shaking. In fact, her whole body was. He may not have noticed it at first, due to the fire charms imbued within his clothes, and the flaming spirits of the Devas, but the weather had made this room freezing. “Do you have a cloak?”Sonia blinked. “Um…no, I don’t think so. The only clothes I have are some dresses and a few pairs of bear-muda shorts.” “Ah, transformative shorts. I know their ursine qualities well…” he murmured. But he was getting off track. His face burned, hot as embers. “Would you…like my scarf? The icy fingers of fate seemed to have gripped you.” Sonia’s eyes widened, shining like lunar stones. Her cheeks also illuminated, undoubtedly a show of physical exertion from her immense power. “O-oh, of course.”He had begun unwrapping the purple fabric when a large, orange blob plopped out. He gasped.“AH! I had forgotten the Four Dark Devas were taking their respite in my scarf.”Sonia looked momentarily disappointed, and nodded. “I understand, if you can’t-““NO,” he bellowed. She jumped. “I mean, no, I have a solution!”Rifling through the scarf, he extracted the three grumpy hamsters, and deposited them on Sonia’s lap. She murmured a small “ooh” and giggled, running her fingers over their soft backs. The hamsters began to chirp and squeak, and move their way up her dress.“It seems they recognize your immense power,” Gundham nodded. “Their feet are so small! It tickles!” she laughed, holding them as they nestled in the hair on her shoulders. Gundham couldn’t help but smile a bit. It didn’t come naturally, as a demon king, but in the face of such magic it was hard not to. He extended the scarf to her.“Hmm…” Sonia looked contemplatively at it. “I feel rather bad…for taking it from you when it’s so cold.”Gundham was about to insist, but she snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it! Half and half!” He was about to question who it would be that was getting severed in two, when she leaned forward. She wrapped half the scarf around his neck - probably too tight, because he suddenly couldn’t breathe. Now they were connected, by the purple scarf of fate. Sonia smiled, so close to his face. “See? Nice and warm!”Gundham couldn’t have agreed more.